Sheriff unveils tactical training facility

Wednesday

Jan 29, 2014 at 12:01 AM

By Jessica LemaThe Courier

Tucked away on a private, wooded lot in Lincoln, a tactical training facility run by the Sheriff's Department has been drawing police personnel from around the nation to Logan County for the last several years.

The facility is operated in conjunction with Chatham-based Adamax Tactical Academy and it has been a functioning work-in-progress since 2005.

From the 4,000 square foot "shoot house" to the climate-controlled on-site classroom, the space boasts a number of amenities not found elsewhere in downstate Illinois.

While the facility has been featured in various trade publications, such as Tactical Response Magazine, it has, for many years, remained a fairly well-kept secret.

Late last week, Sheriff Steve Nichols, brought the facility to light in a discussion on what it's meant for local law enforcement and how the updated site is expected to drastically improve the ways in which area police respond to crisis situations.

Nichols said that the training-ground only became a reality through a joint effort with Adamax owner, Ron Yanor, who is also a retired Sangamon County deputy.

"We saw a need for better training in tactical weapon use and, with what's going on in today's world with the active shooters and all that, this is some of the training that he provides to agencies not only in central Illinois, but throughout the state and throughout the country," Nichols said.

Yanor worked for two-years to perfect the design of the "shoot house," a log cabin-like structure with movable walls and various strategic challenges used for live-fire training scenarios.

He pointed out that, in the development stage, he was able to consult with various special-ops experts to get their input in creating the most realistic, multi-purpose structure possible.

Several local contractors and volunteers from the Sheriff's department supplied the manpower in building the structure, which required five semi-truck loads of railroad ties to be delivered to the area and stacked by hand.

"We're able to do training down there that you can't do elsewhere south of I-80," Yanor said.

"The officers go in for rapid response training and it is live-fire. We use full-size, full-color photographic targets, so there is decision making- shoot, don't shoot, 'friendlys,' 'hostiles'- all in this type of environment. It is a realistic as you can make it, short of having rounds going both directions."

Yanor quoted a friend as saying, "'You've got to learn the dance steps before you go to prom,' that's what we equate it to. You've got to learn the dance steps in training before you can do it in a live situation."

Yanor calls it a progressive training regiment with a "crawl, walk, run" approach.

In exchange for the use of the facility for other classes, Adamax provides area law enforcement personnel with a variety of training courses free of charge.

This is done through an agreement with the landowners, who have allowed the Sheriff's department to use their private range for many years.

Nichols pointed out that he and his deputies participate in about half a dozen different formal training courses at the facility each year.

"We've trained a lot on immediate response to schools," he said. "It's one thing to talk about it, its another thing to train on it."

The facility has also been used for private training sessions by several local law enforcement agencies, including the Mount Pulaski, Elkhart, and Lincoln Police Departments.

Nichols said that, aside from benefiting the public with better-trained police, the facility has also been beneficial to the community in terms of tourism dollars.

"When he brings in a class of 20 or 25 people that don't live here, they're staying at our hotels, you know, they're eating at our restaurants for three, four, five days, whatever length of time that they're here," Nichols said.

"We've done all of this without any tax-payer support. We've not asked the County Board for any money. This has cost the people nothing, you know, so it's been a win all the way around."